re: Delinquent student loans surge in Q3

quote:Please cite a single reference where Obama ever promised or suggested that student loans would be forgiven.

He didn't. There is this cult like following amongst some of these Obama supporters. They truly believe that every irresponsible decision they make will somehow be forgiven by Obama. He doesn't have to say it....they just have to believe it.

quote:I didn't get that to necessarily be what he was suggesting at all.

Perception rarely equals reality.

Actually, someone on this board was suggesting that very thing regarding student loans a a week or so ago. Had to set them straight.

Frankly, I just find it amusing to observe the projection that occurs on this board regarding "Obama supporters" or Obama himself. It is an almost perfect example of irony (situational, that is) when these posters suggest that people who voted for Obama must be obsessed, or idolize the guy or are "Obamabots" or whatever . . . when, in fact, it is those posters who have an almost pathological, cult-like obsession with their disdain of the man and their desire to attribute unfounded characteristics to those who voted for him.

quote:Delinquent student loans surge in Q3 quote: I didn't get that to necessarily be what he was suggesting at all.

Perception rarely equals reality.

Actually, someone on this board was suggesting that very thing regarding student loans a a week or so ago. Had to set them straight.

Frankly, I just find it amusing to observe the projection that occurs on this board regarding "Obama supporters" or Obama himself. It is an almost perfect example of irony (situational, that is) when these posters suggest that people who voted for Obama must be obsessed, or idolize the guy or are "Obamabots" or whatever . . . when, in fact, it is those posters who have an almost pathological, cult-like obsession with their disdain of the man and their desire to attribute unfounded characteristics to those who voted for him.

It's almost like you've come full circle on whatever straw man it is you think you're slaying here.

quote:It's almost like you've come full circle on whatever straw man it is you think you're slaying here.

There is no straw man. I simply made an observation. A poster above referred to a "cult like following among" "Obama followers" (I don't know who those Obama followers are. Obama has supporters and people who voted for him. And, like most presidents, there are a few people who go overboard in their praise of him (as they did with W., Reagan, Clinton, etc).

However, I think the odd, "cult-like" behavior is exhibited by those who describe voters who simply disagree with them as "Obamabots", or suggest that the bulk of Obama voters worship the guy irrationally and place him on a pedestal. That sort of nonsense is stated on this board everyday.

quote:Ask the unemployed college graduates what they felt like they got when they graduated. A big heap of nothing :(

So what did you expect employers beating a path to your door? Times are tough right now, but there have been bad times before. The job market for new graduates sucked at the end of Carter's term of office as well. I had classmates who took jobs as assistant managers of retail stores for $5.00 an hour, and they were happy to find the work. And some of them had earned degrees in petroleum engineering.

quote:You're probably right about one thing. There's not much of an excuse for the people that can amass 70-100k in debt, but the fact that so many people end up owing that kind of debt tells me something is wrong somewhere.

I'm 42k in debt.. just started paying off the loan, I was in "financial-deferment" because I literally couldn't pay the minimum payment for the first 2 years out of college.. nothing feels better than finally making the first payment after getting a 150% raise a month before.

Here's the big thing though, college has become somewhat of a joke, it isn't the "end all be all" game changer anymore, that stopped about 10 years ago unfortunately. The Guberment decided it was a right for EVERYONE to have a college degree, so said college degrees have really grown in price, while pumping out extremely unimportant degrees that will get you nowhere..

I got a degree that is on the rise, but hasn't risen with the graduation rate, it took me 4 years before I actually found the job I "wanted" .. but unlike every single other person I graduated with, I took crap jobs to get to that place.. everyone else I graduated with, not so much. Entitlements are a huge part of this generation, and sadly, very few people are willing to "take the shit, til it becomes a diamond" anymore.. work ethic is in the shitter these days.

Always wanted to be a sportsbroadcaster, but every place I have applied told me I do not have the voice, which is true. My voice is relatively high pitched and not very smooth. I interned at ESPN and Fox SPORTS too

But even if I could get a minor league baseball position as a broadcaster, I am making about $20k a year.

Other positions in the field such as production or camera work are done on a freelance basis, not a full time basis, unless you are producing/directing for a major sports team or on an A-team crew for ESPN. But to land those jobs you have to start as a freelancer making about $125 a job. Even if you worked 5 games a week(unlikely) its only about $25k a year.

It's possible to pull off if you have no student debt

I have seen the writing on the wall and am going to grad school to get a masters.

Yikes.. I saw the "writing on the wall" so to speak and switch to Public Relations.. thank goodness I did. I now do Marketing for a fairly big corporation.

quote:Jobs are available if they really want to pay of their loans. My wife and I dropped everything we were doing, moved hours away from home, payed our existing mortgage along with rent on a new apartment. We payed off over 50k of student loans in a year.

Sounds like you and your wife had well paying jobs. The problem with all of the Delinquent student loans is that many of them are from people who never should have gone to college in the first place and will be trapped in minimum wage employment their entire lives, thanks to our nations policy of acting like Trade Schools are beneath us as Americans.

quote:The problem with all of the Delinquent student loans is that many of them are from people who never should have gone to college in the first place and will be trapped in minimum wage employment their entire lives, thanks to our nations policy of acting like Trade Schools are beneath us as Americans.

This is a way to fix all of this - but nobody wants to do it.

Identify the "trade school" kids in middle school. Combining funding from public school sources and funding from the industries, switch them to trade school instead of the 9th grade. Half the day they work on the trade (and maybe just learn the theory, practice, work on smaller scale versions of the equipment the first couple of years) and the other half of the day they learn life skills, such as balancing a checkbook, "real world" math, such as how to compare loan offers, amortization of a home or car, doing income taxes, etc - for the 9th and 10th grades.

11th and 12th grade, they start doing some unpaid internships through the auspices of the school, and continue to work on trade skills and real world skills. Give them a HS diploma, just indicate "trade and industrial arts", as opposed to "college prep".

Heck, the universities will still let them in if they make a decent enough score on the ACT or SAT - they won't go to Harvard or Yale, but they weren't going there anyway. And, they'll be better prepared for life as a plumber, roofer, welder, machine operator, mechanic, electrician, etc.

We did and still do have well paying jobs, but i had to switch industries and both of us had to work 50+ hours a week minimum while being on call 24-7. Many of my coworkers who went to trade school instead of college were making much more than me. Hell i even had an illiterate coworker clearing 6 figures easily. There are plenty opportunities out there for anyone who doesn't mind putting their degree aside and getting their hands dirty....

With the boomers set to retire just around the corner, trade school will be more valuable than most college degrees in our near future.

quote:Identify the "trade school" kids in middle school. Combining funding from public school sources and funding from the industries, switch them to trade school instead of the 9th grade.

I agree with the overall point, but don't think tracking is effective. In practice or theory. I think a better route is doing a better job of managing credits for graduation and overall curriculum organization so that kids can pursue those trades while also taking other classes, too.

These things aren't mutually exclusive.

The path to graduation is too narrow. too prescriptive. Countries are able to produce brighter graduates despite having taken fewer courses that are spread across a wider variety of topics. More choice. More interest. More engagement. And the ability to encourage trades/vocations as a viable career path, alongside the postsecondary routes of college and university/